Socialism in Latin America (updated II)
First, Venezuela, then Brazil, just recently Chile, and now Bolivia, more and more of Latin American has been turning to Socialism, and I can only assume that fidelito and chavez are already making plans.
Among them, Chile's new and 1st Female President, Michelle Bachelet, appears to be more of a moderate and has been quoted saying: "Because I was the victim of hatred, I have dedicated my life to reverse that hatred and turn it into understanding, tolerance and — why not say it — into love," (Fox News) with that I am very hopeful she remains true to her words with the awareness that hatred is hatred be it pinochet or be it castro. I'm opptimistic about her and only time will tell.
However:
Evo Morales is quite the other story.
As we know Bolivia has a history of going through Presidents like your average Cuban goes through bread. However, Evo may be a different case. Evo, the first indigenous President of Bolivia, claims to support the indigenous people, the protection of the land (la mamapacha), and the coca plants -which is used for ritual teas or chewing for altitude adjustment: Evo has mentioned to uphold everything sacred for the Bolivian culture and that gives him a temporary stability in office.
Now, why should we care?
What he supports is fine and may actually be good for his people, however, he has clearly stated that he is opposed to "US neo-liberal imperialism."
Yup, that's the same catchy phrase that fidel and hugo use.
Not only is Evo's socialism more extreme than Bachelet's, but Evo is known to have a profound admiration for fidel, hugo, and of course che.
Today Evo met with Cuban "vice-president" Carlos Lage to create an accord that "envisages the creation of a non-profit ophthalmologic entity, the distribution of 5,000 scholarships to study medicine and the implementation of an academic exchange and a literacy program." (Prensa Latina)
This accord not only makes Evo look really good in front of his people, but it gives him even more stability to maintain a historically shaky office. Of course, on surface this really isn't a bad thing. The promise of money, medicine and brains is great, but we all know the truth of castro's doctors, debt and political manipulation -its promise and its failure.
As we know, castro is not stupid: scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. With castro helping Evo, castro's baby (hugo chavez), who dreams of conquering Latin America, is assuredly on the sidelines waiting for his chance to woo Evo into his goofy Bolivarian Revolution.
Time, too, will tell. However, do not be surprised if Evo joins the ranks of castro and chavez -couple that with Brazil and quite possibly Chile and things could get really ugly.
UPDATE
This just in from The Real Cuba:
Who needs to woo when your getting your ass kissed? Evo just sent hugo a portrait of Bolivar made out of Coca leaves. No waiting. No playing hard to get. Nada.
Man, what's the proper saying: "fools rush in"?
UPDATE II
Mora has a great article on Bachelet in the American Thinker. It was posted January 20th, and it reflects many of the same hopes that I have in Chile's new president.
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